1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cargo support walls for trucks and in particular to retractable cargo support walls for open trucks, such as pickup trucks, which provide strong interconnected support locked in place when in the upright position and a very low profile when in the stored position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The pickup truck has grown into an all-around, all-purpose vehicle for basic transportation; part-time truck, full-time work truck and recreational vehicle. In order to improve the cargo carrying function of pick-up trucks, various truck cargo racks have been proposed.
One problem with prior art racks is that while they are needed to stabilize a high load, the rack itself often gets in the way of the actual loading process. Consequently, there is also a need for a folding rack having one or more assemblies which can easily and quickly be folded down for loading and easily and quickly folded up after the load is on the truck bed.
While a number of retractable open truck cargo supports have been developed they lack locked in place interconnected side walls necessary to absorb the shocks of shifting loads leaning or banging against one side or the other during transit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,864, issued Aug. 12, 1969 to Piercy, is for a collapsible truck rack with a series of horizontal rails supported by vertical posts which pivot about one end and have an element at another end which slides within a groove in the horizontal element so that the vertical posts are pivoted down as the horizontal rails are lowered. It has hinged end posts wherein the top half of the end posts pivot down after the horizontal rails are lowered.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,637, issued Dec. 25, 2001 to Chambers, shows a rack for securing cargo to a vehicle, the rack comprising: first and second base rails attached to the vehicle; first and second collapsible post having first and second hinge ends and first and second slide ends, wherein the first and second hinge ends are rotatably attached to the first base rail by first and second hinge joints, respectively; a first support rail slidably connected to the first and second slide ends of the first and second collapsible posts by first and second slide joints, respectively, whereby rotation of the first and second collapsible posts about the first and second hinge joints moves the first support rail between support and collapse positions; third and fourth collapsible post having third and fourth hinge ends and third and fourth slide ends, wherein the third and fourth hinge ends are rotatably attached to the second base rail by third and fourth hinge joints, respectively; a second support rail slidably connected to the third and fourth slide ends of the third and fourth collapsible posts by third and fourth slide joints, respectively, whereby rotation of the third and fourth collapsible posts about the third and fourth hinge joints moves the second support rail between support and collapse positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,583, issued Apr. 28, 1998 to Lowe, claims an auxiliary load supporting apparatus including a substantially rigid frame member receivable by portions of a bed of a pickup truck and having a movable frame member pivotally coupled thereto and movable from a first position and a second position for supporting a load superjacent the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,660, issued Sep. 11, 1990 to Leonard, provides a tent-like enclosure installable on the cargo box of a pickup truck to protect cargo or humans within the box. The enclosure is supported on the box by means of a frame structure that includes two inverted U-shaped frame elements having downwardly-extending legs slidably positioned within guide sleeves that are mounted within pre-existing stake pockets (sockets) in the cargo box side walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,038, issued Mar. 6, 1990 to Morris, describes A livestock enclosure for a pickup truck or the like comprises two foldable rack structures, one for each side wall of the truck body, the structures terminating at the rear of the truck. The racks are collapsible against a vertical head board at the front of the truck body. Locking pins are provided to secure the rack to the wall of the truck. The rear gates may be swung open and if the truck is too close to a cattle chute or other structure, the gates may be opened by lateral movement. A locking bar holds the rack structure in position at the rear of the truck and also is employed to retain the rack in its collapsed position against the cab.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,264 issued Apr. 29, 1986 to Miller, discloses A rack for a truck bed which includes separate front and side assemblies, each assembly utilizing a lower frame having dowels for selective insertion into openings into truck bed edges or permanent sidewalls. A first rack member is pivotally attached to each frame of each respective assembly by hinges which are spring biased to cause the first respective rack member to be in folded position wherein the respective first rack member is disposed beside the respective frame and is movable to an extended position wherein the respective first rack member is disposed about the respective frame member. A second rack member of each respective assembly is pivotally attached to a respective one of said first rack member by hinges which are spring biased to cause the second rack member to be in a folded position wherein the respective second rack member is disposed beside the respective first rack member and is movable from such folded position to an extended position in alignment with a respective one of the first rack members. Locking mechanisms are provided for selectively locking the front assembly to the side assemblies whereby such assemblies will be held in the extended position. Locking mechanisms are also provided for selectively locking the assemblies in a folded position.
What is needed is a structurally integrated interconnected retractable cargo support wall system which locks in place.
An object of the present invention is to provide cargo support walls for pickup trucks and other types of trucks lacking high side walls wherein the support walls have a rigidly integrated support system with cross braces between the two side support walls at each end for structural integrity when in an upright support position and which fold down onto a low profile ridge on top of each side wall of the pickup truck bed so they do not interfere with the normal loading and unloading processes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide retractable elements in each of the side support walls which lock securely in place when in the upright support position and easily release to slide the components together for storing the side walls.
One more object of the present invention is to provide side-to-side cross braces at each end which lock together during use for structural support and which are released and pivot on hinges over against the side wall elements for storage.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide all horizontal side members with hollow interior portions for receiving the vertical members pivoted into the horizontal members to maintain a low provide in the folded down position. a further object of the present invention
A contributory object of the present invention is to provide at least one horizontal member with a hollow interior space for receiving another horizontal member stored therein in the folded down position to further assist in maintaining a low profile.
In brief, the present invention is installed on the body rails of a pick-up truck, or the sides of other types of trucks with low sides or no sides, to provide an eye pleasing functional accessory that folds down and stores with a low when not in use and a strong rigid cargo rack that can be raised into a cargo carrying position within seconds, requiring only a wrench to secure it or no tools if wing nuts are used.
The lower horizontal members of each side wall have hollow interior spaces to receive the vertical members which pivot down into them for storage by having a top pin adjacent to the top of each vertical member on each side of the vertical members which top pins slide along horizontal slots in an upper horizontal member to come to rest and lock in a lower lock recess at the end of each horizontal slot and a lower pin on each side adjacent to the bottom pivot point of each vertical member pivotally attached to the lower horizontal member, which lower pins slide in a 90 degree arc slot in each lower horizontal member.
The hollow interior spaces are sufficiently large so that the bottom interior space of the top horizontal member accommodates a top half of the middle horizontal member inside the interior space and a top interior space on the bottom horizontal member accommodates a bottom half of the middle horizontal member, so that when the vertical members are fully down in a horizontal position within the horizontal members, the middle horizontal member rests completely within the top and bottom horizontal members for a low profile. The middle horizontal member is preferably double the height of the top horizontal member and double the height of the bottom horizontal member.
At each front and back end of the top horizontal member, a cross brace member is pivotally attached, preferably by a hinge, and the cross brace pivots 90 degrees away from the horizontal member to overlap the cross brace member from the other side with the overlap portions bolted together to provide structural integrity between the side walls. Preferably, wing nuts are used for bolting the cross brace members together so that no tools are required for the system. To fold down the walls, the cross braces are unbolted and the cross braces pivoted flat against the top horizontal side members and secured by latches, bolts or other means.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides for pickups an other trucks retractable support walls having structural integrity.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides truck walls which fold down out of the way for loading and unloading.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that no tools are required to raise and lower the walls.